Guo faces more cases as probe deepens

Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

SEN. Risa Hontiveros said on Friday that if Bamban Mayor Alice Guo would be convicted in any of the cases related to online gaming operations, she would eventually be deported, but not before she serves prison time.

Hontiveros said she expects Guo, who has been suspended as mayor by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, to face a slew of cases as the Senate probes deeper into her background.

A biometric analysis by the National Bureau of Investigation has revealed that the fingerprints of Mayor Guo and Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national, matched, indicating that they were the same person.

Guo has already been charged with trafficking in persons by the Department of Justice over her alleged links with the Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) site in her town.

Guo has denied the charge.

Hontiveros said a conviction means that Guo must complete her sentence before she is deported.

The Office of the Solicitor General is also expected to file a quo warranto case, along with the cancellation of Guo's birth certificate.

Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality conducting the inquiry on POGOs, believes there is substantial and compelling evidence against Guo.

In a Zoom press briefing, she said Guo could also be charged with identity theft for using the information and identity of a Filipino citizen in her pursuit of public office.

The senator reiterated her warning that Guo would be held in contempt if she missed the next hearing of Hontiveros' committee.

Guo skipped the hearing Wednesday, saying she was "stressed" and feeling "prejudged" guilty by the committee.

"Everyone involved must be held accountable. And above all, it's a wake-up call to all of us that illegal activities must be stopped in Bamban and other parts of the Philippines," Hontiveros said.

She promised to expose, at the appropriate time, the criminal interconnection between illegal POGOs uncovered by the Senate during the previous Congress.

Although she did not go into details, Hontiveros hinted that she will present the implications of the connections, which encompass violations of human rights and labor standards, corruption in government agencies, and transnational crimes such as human trafficking.